Stories That Heal -1
When Dr. Eugene Ramos was working for Biomedis as the Chairperson of the Joy for Caring Advocacy, he asked physicians to contribute stories of healing which they wished to share with other physicians. This was published in the rough in 1985 in a book entitled “Stories That Heal”.
Here is the one of the three stories I shared…
Divine Intervention
A forty year old nurse who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had not followed up for two years after surgery, decided to undergo chemotherapy. On re-evaluation, she had Stage 4 disease with liver, lung, pleural and bone metastasis. Chemotherapy was tried but failed and she was admitted for dyspnea due to moderate pleural effusion.
Her dyspnea improved with closed tube thoracostomy followed by pleurodesis. Thereafter, she was noted to be getting weaker and would soon need to be intubated and attached to a mechanical ventilator.
The option to withhold life support measures was discussed with the patient and her relatives. The husband agreed with the suggestion but the patient and her mother decided to proceed with whatever means possible to sustain life. While we were hoping that the patient and her mother would change their stand, the patient was fast deteriorating.
